Too much Certainty in the World
by idontlikegravy
Summary: Post The Doctor receives an urgent call from Martha, Donna desperately needs his help. Can he save his companion again?


_Disclaimer:Not mine, not one little bit, it all belongs to others far cleverer than I. Written for love, not profit._

**Too Much Certainty in the World**

The Doctor stared at the console of the TARDIS blankly, lost in his own dark musings. He had kept moving since leaving Donna with her mother and grandfather. He hadn't returned to Earth for fear that their paths would be once again drawn together.

_It would be safe to visit a different era in Earth history, maybe I could see what Will Shakespeare is doing or pop in to see Sitting Bull,_he thought. Before he could decide, he was roused by the sound of a telephone ringing. It took him a moment before he realised it was Martha's mobile, still nestling in a pocket on the console. He grabbed it and answered.

"Martha Jones!" he said with a grin.

"_Doctor_," Martha replied. Her tone was serious, almost afraid, immediately wiping the grin from the Doctor's face. "_Doctor, you need to come_."

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"_It's Donna_. _She remembers._"

*-*

The Doctor stood and knocked on the white front door with the black eleven on it. His face was an emotionless mask, but his eyes fired with anger. He was ready to tear into whoever it was that had triggered Donna's memories, but all his anger dissipated when the door opened and he saw Wilf. Donna's grandfather was clearly terrified, knowing as he did that Donna was probably dying, and there were tears running down his honest face.

"Doctor, thank God you've come. Can you fix it?" Wilf asked, hopeful.

"I hope so, Wilf. Let's have a look at her," the Doctor replied, kindly. But the truth was that the Doctor knew he probably couldn't lock away Donna's memories a second time. He followed Wilf inside, his brilliant mind racing with a billion different scenarios, 99% of them ending with Donna's death.

Donna was sat in her bed, being fussed over by her mother and by Martha. Martha spotted the Doctor and slipped from the room so she could talk to him first.

"Doctor. She seems stable at the moment, but I don't know how long that will last," Martha explained. "She turned up at UNIT two days ago, looking for you."

"How did this happen? I told you how important it was that she never remember," the Doctor demanded, looking accusingly at Wilf. Wilf looked contrite at first, then defiant.

"I told you that it was impossible! We tried to brush everything under the carpet, to tell her the Daleks was just a silly story, but she kept asking. In the end it wasn't even that, it was a stupid check up!" Wilf said, his voice low and emotional. The Doctor looked at him, quizzically. "All I said to her, was 'when are you gonna see the doctor luv?' and that triggered it all. You couldn't expect me to never mention doctors ever again!" Wilf explained. The Doctor shook his head.

"I'm so sorry, Wilf. You're right, I didn't think it through. Grr! I'm so thick, so stupid!" the Doctor berated himself, slapping his forehead with the heel of his palm.

"Well that's not going to help Donna," Martha gently chastised, smiling. The Doctor looked at her, then smiled back. He nodded and led the way into Donna's room. As he did, Donna looked up and gasped in surprise, before putting on one of her mardy 'sucking on a lemon' faces.

"So why'd you dump me Spaceboy?" she demanded, her voice loaded with the brash attitude that made her sound like a teenager. The Doctor smiled broadly.

"Oh, I did miss that!" he said.

"That's not an answer! You left me here, with no memories, for months! Why?" Donna demanded.

"Alright, alright! What's the last thing you _do_ remember?" the Doctor asked.

"We were in the street, and you asked me what Rose had said, and I told you to turn round and ask her yourself," Donna replied, putting her hand to her head as she finished.

"And that's it?" the Doctor asked.

"It's all a blank after that. What happened?" she asked. The Doctor thought fast to find a decent explanation.

"You were injured. Moments after that, a Dalek appeared up the street and we ran to the TARDIS. We were in such a rush to get inside that you tripped and hit your head. You stayed unconscious for so long, I was so worried. When you came round you had no memory of who I was."

"So you thought it best to plop me back in my old life and bugger off back into space? Charming, that is. Daleks invade Earth and I get knocked unconscious? Typical," Donna complained, making the Doctor beam.

"But you've remembered now, haven't you? You're back, and that's brilliant! Good old Donna, back the way we remember her," he declared cheerily, and clapped her on the arm. "Just got to speak to Martha, won't be a mo," he added, bouncing out of the room, followed by the UNIT doctor and Wilf.

"So?" Wilf asked, anxious.

"It's amazing; her brain has remembered everything, right up to the point where the metacrisis began. Any more memory and she'd remember the regeneration and its consequences. I don't know if it's the Timelord part of the brain, or the human part, but something in her is protecting her by keeping locked all the memories that are linked to the regeneration. Brilliant, just brilliant!" the Doctor explained gleefully. Wilf smiled nervously.

"So you don't need to take it all away again?" he asked.

"Nope," the Doctor confirmed.

"That's a relief," Martha said, "Well, looks like I'm not needed any longer, so I'll be going. Nice meeting you Wilf. Bye Doctor," she said, pecking him on the cheek. She poked her head through into the bedroom once more to say goodbye to Donna and her mum before letting herself out.

The Doctor went back into the bedroom and sat on the bed beside Donna. Wilf motioned to Donna's mum, who to her credit understood, and they left the two of them alone.

"So, what now?" Donna asked.

"Well, I dunno, I mean, I was just trying to figure out where to go when Martha called," the Doctor replied. Donna hit him. "Ow!"

"I meant, what happens to me now," she said.

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm all alone, haven't given your key to anyone. And I still need someone to boss me about," he replied with a grin. Donna smiled back.

"Seriously? You'll let me come with you again?"

"Yeah, I don't see the harm. Besides, we have a laugh, don't we?" he answered. "Now, I'll let you pack your stuff, okay?" he finished and stood. He started to head for the door.

"Great! Then you can show me that Felspoon," Donna said as she got up and began shoving clothes into a suitcase. The Doctor stopped and faced Donna again, suddenly serious.

"Where did you hear that name?" he asked.

"Dunno, guess you must have told me," she replied with a shrug. She looked at him and smiled. "Something the matter?" she asked. The Doctor looked at her, then shook his head and smiled.

"Nah, probably nothing. And don't you go packing fifty suitcases again madam! You can have five and that's it," he said and waggled his finger at her before turning and leaving the room.


End file.
